Halloween Real-Life Drama

Mama said there'll be days like this,
There'll be days like this Mama said
(Mama said, mama said) 

I took a sick day today, because I was honestly sick (duh) & tired.
Head pounding, sinus congestion, dry cough, fever hot body, and dog-tired sick.
All that coupled with a healing wound, leaving me to type with 9 fingers.

As the Urgent Care doctor told me Monday, working with children is a hazardous occupation.

I started to feel The Sick coming on Sunday.
But Monday was Halloween!
Students gripping bags of polyester costumes stuffed into bags, grinning from ear to ear, and hyper with excitement from the upcoming parade & candy rush!
As much as Halloween Day at School can be a cat-herding event, it's not your normal day.  And so that's fun.
I doped myself up on sudafed & ibuprofen and off I went, to a successful day complete with pasta skeletons and other fun activities.
I made it through after school tutoring, even though the student didn't have homework (cue me creating last minute activities).

I even found coverage for my reoccurring Monday-night yoga gig.
The thought of PJ's, tea, and the couch completed me.

I decided to have some cinnamon raisin bread, toasted & buttered, which Panera gave us free the night before.

Shiny, serrated, bread knife.
I like having nice things that do their job right.
Maybe too right.
And then I sliced my finger clear open with our lovely, new, wedding gift knives.
Now I know why it's bad luck to gift knives.

Throwing the knife to the counter and gripping my finger, I recounted everything I knew from my Girl Scout's First Aid Badge: pressure, hold it above your heart, grip it tight, and cry like a baby.


One hand in pain, the other gripping it tight.
I had no free hand to help me.
Now what?
Neighbors.
Do you know how silly it feels to knock on your neighbor's door, in PJ's, braless, tears staining your face and say, "Uh, Hi.  I cut myself. Can you help me?"
I'm so lucky I live in a building with nice people.

They bandaged it up tight and kept offering to drive me to the hospital.
Maybe it was the adrenalin talking, but I couldn't for the life of me think why anyone goes to the ER on Halloween night for a measly little injury that probably only needs one single suture.

I finally found myself back on the couch, using Dragon Dictation to tweet and ask medical questions to people who clearly are not doctors.
No ER for me, no way.

When Mike arrived home from class I changed the band-aid to show him my brilliant, sick-haze-caused, not fully paying attention to what I was doing, injury.
Funny thing happened.
We got a real-life Halloween show, right there.
Blood dripping and going everywhere.

We looked at each other and said, "We're going."
...didn't need to say where - we both knew it was to the ER.

Luckily (?) our good friend Todd reminded us of a new Urgent Care center closer & with hopefully less of a wait.  And he even met us there to keep us company!

 I showed up claiming my costume was a unicorn.

Only $15 copay.
Only 2.5 hour wait.
and since I was their last patient, they didn't even want to give me stitches! (Which I still debate if that was the right thing...)

SKIN SUPER GLUE to the rescue!
Tetanus shot (stings like a B)
and a strep test for good measure.

Working with children might be a hazardous occupation,

but being me is living on the edge, enough for us all!